Skate

ABSTRACT

A skate comprises a base having front and rear base parts which are separated from each other; a boot having front and rear boot parts which are attached to upper surfaces of the front and rear base parts, respectively; a base connector for connecting the front and rear base parts with each other in a manner such that a spacing between them can be adjusted, and for guiding movement of the rear base part with respect to the front base part; a clamper for releasably clamping the front and rear boot parts to each other so that relative movement therebetween is prevented; and front and rear ground contactors detachably joined to lower surfaces of the front and rear base parts, respectively.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a skate, and more particularly,the present invention relates to a skate which can be adjusted in itssize in conformity with a size of a foot, and can be employed as an iceskate, a roller skate or an in-line skate as desired.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] Generally, a skate comprises a boot, a frame attached to a soleof the boot, and a blade or a roller assembly mounted to the frame. Askate having a blade is called an ice skate, and is used on the ice. Askate having a roller assembly is called a roller skate. A skate havingan in-line roller arrangement is called an in-line skate.

[0005] Skating allows a person to take sufficient exercise and renders afeeling of speedy movement. For this reason, many people enjoy skating.Specifically, these days, a roller skate and an in-line skate have beenhighlighted since it is possible to enjoy the feeling of speedy movementin all seasons, while making use of indoor arenas even during times ofinclement weather.

[0006] In the conventional art, a problem is caused in that a number ofskates having a variety of sizes should be necessarily provided to besuited to sizes of wearers' feet. In particular, in the case of theyounger generations, because they grow rapidly, several pairs of skatesof different sizes are needed for each of them to adequately accommodatesize variations of the feet.

[0007] Also, in the conventional art, since an ice skate, which is usedon the ice, and a roller skate and an in-line skate, which are used onthe ground, are separately constructed, they must be separatelypurchased as occasion demands, whereby an economic burden cannot but beimposed on a user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] Accordingly, the present invention has been made in an effort tosolve the problems inherent in the related art, and an object of theinvention is to provide a skate, the size of which can be adjusted insuch a manner that the user can wear the skate irrespective of his orher foot size.

[0009] Another object of the invention is to provide a skate which canbe used as an ice skate, a roller skate or an in-line skate as desired.

[0010] In order to achieve the above objects, according to the presentinvention, there is provided a skate comprising: a base having front andrear base parts which are separated from each other; a boot having frontand rear boot parts which are attached to upper surfaces of the frontand rear base parts, respectively; a base connector for connecting thefront and rear base parts with each other in a manner such that aspacing between them can be adjusted, and for guiding movement of therear base part with respect to the front base part; a clamper forreleasably clamping the front and rear boot parts to each other so thatrelative movement therebetween is prevented; and front and rear groundcontactors detachably joined to lower surfaces of the front and rearbase parts, respectively.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] The above objects, and other features and advantages of thepresent invention will become more apparent after a reading of thefollowing detailed description when taken in conjunction with thedrawings, in which:

[0012]FIG. 1 is a partially broken-away side view illustrating aconstruction of a skate in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

[0013]FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line I-I of FIG.1;

[0014]FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II ofFIG. 1;

[0015]FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III ofFIG. 1;

[0016]FIGS. 5 and 6 are side views illustrating other front and rearground contactors as being main component elements of the skateaccording to the present invention; and

[0017]FIG. 7 is a partially broken-away side view illustrating aconstruction of a skate in accordance with another embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] Reference will now be made in greater detail to a preferredembodiment of the invention, an example of which is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numeralswill be used throughout the drawings and the description to refer to thesame or like parts.

[0019] First, referring to FIG. 1, a skate in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention largely includes a base 10 which canbe adjusted in its length, a boot 40 which is attached to an uppersurface of the base 10 and is able to be adjusted in its size, and frontand rear ground contactors 90 and 100 which are detachably joined to alower surface of the base 10.

[0020] Concretely speaking, the skate according to the present inventionhas the base 10 which is divided into a front base part 20 and a rearbase part 30. The front base part 20 and the rear base part 30 areformed separately from each other in a manner such that they can bemoved close to or away from each other so as to adjust an entire lengthof the base 10.

[0021] Further, the skate according to the present invention has theboot 40 which is divided into a front boot part 50 and a rear boot part60. The front boot part 50 accommodates a front portion of a foot. Thefront boot part 50 is composed of a shell 52 and a sole 54 and isattached to the front base part 20 of the base 10. A pair of securingbands 56 for securing the front boot part 50 about the foot of a wearerare attached to the shell 52. The rear boot part 60 accommodates a rearportion of the foot. The rear boot part 60 is also composed of a shell62 and a sole 64 and is attached to the rear base part 30 of the base10. A securing band 66 for securing the rear boot part 60 about an ankleof the wearer is attached to the shell 62.

[0022] The boot 40 can be configured in a manner such that itaccommodates the foot of the wearer, or the front and rear boot parts 50and 60 can be large-sized in a manner such that the boot 40 can be wornby the wearer in a state wherein the wearer puts on a shoe.

[0023] The skate further has a base connector which connects the frontand rear base parts 20 and 30 with each other in a manner such that aspacing between them can be adjusted, and which guides movement of therear base part 30 with respect to the front base part 20. As can bereadily seen from FIGS. 1 and 2, the base connector comprises a pair ofguide shafts 22 which extend rearward from a lower surface of the frontbase part 20, and a pair of guide holes 32 which are defined on a lowersurface of the rear base part 30 in a manner such that the guide shafts22 are reciprocatingly fitted into the guide holes 32, respectively.Here, in order to define the pair of guide holes 32, a pair of guidemembers 30 a are welded to the lower surface of the rear base part 30.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 1, the base connector functions to guidemovement of the rear base part 30 with respect to the front base part20, whereby a spacing between the front and rear boot parts 50 and 60respectively attached to the front and rear base parts 20 and 30 can beadjusted. By this fact, it is possible adjust a size of the boot 40 inconformity with a size of the foot. Meanwhile, a piston 22 a is formedat a free end of each guide shaft 22, which free end is inserted intothe guide hole 32. Each guide member 30 a is formed, on acircumferential inner surface thereof, with a shoulder 32 a. When thefront and rear base parts 20 and 30 are maximally separated from eachother, the piston 22 a is engaged with the shoulder 32 a, whereby theguide shaft 22 is prevented from being removed out of the guide hole 32.As a consequence, the front and rear base parts 20 and 30 are preventedfrom being decoupled from each other.

[0025] According to the present invention, a clamper for releasablyclamping the front and rear boot parts 50 and 60 to each other isprovided so that the adjusted spacing between the front and rear bootparts 50 and 60 is not unintentionally changed. As shown in FIG. 1, theclamper comprises a pair of clamping bands 70 which are fastened to thefront boot part 50, and a pair of buckles 72 which are fastened to therear boot part 60 in a manner such that the clamping bands 70 can belocked in the buckles 72, respectively. Each clamping band 70 extendsrearward from the front boot part 50. As shown in FIG. 3, the clampingband 70 has a plurality of triangular teeth 71 which are spaced apartone from another by the same interval. Each triangular tooth 71 has avertical surface 71 a which is perpendicular to a plane of the clampingband 70, and an inclined surface 71 b which is inclined by apredetermined angle from an upper end of the vertical surface 71 atoward the plane of the clamping band 70.

[0026] Each buckle 72 has a locking hole 72 a through which the clampingband 70 can be inserted. Adjacent to an end of the locking hole 72 a, anoperating lever 74 is rotatably connected to the buckle 72 by a hingeshaft 75. The operating lever 74 has at least one stopper projection 76which projects into the locking hole 72 a. The stopper projection 76 isconfigured in a manner such that it can be engaged with at least one ofthe triangular projections 71 of the clamping band 70 which is insertedinto the locking hole 72 a. The stopper projection 76 has a triangularconfiguration to be properly engaged with the triangular tooth 71. In adirection where the clamping band 70 is inserted into the locking hole72 a of the buckle 72, the teeth 71 of the clamping band 70 go over aninclined surface of the stopper projection 76, so that entry of theclamping band 70 into the locking hole 72 a is allowed. On the otherhand, in a direction where the clamping band 70 is removed from thelocking hole 72 a of the buckle 72, the vertical surface of the tooth 71is engaged with a vertical surface of the stopper projection 76, so thatexit of the clamping band 70 out of the locking hole 72 a is prevented.A torsion spring 78 is installed around the hinge shaft 75 of theoperating lever 74. Both ends of the torsion spring 78 are supported bythe buckle 72 and the operating lever 74, respectively. The torsionspring 78 biases the operating lever 74 in a direction where the stopperprojection 76 is engaged with the tooth 71 to lock the clamping band 70to the buckle 72. One half of the operating lever 74 serves as a pressportion 74 a. If the wearer presses the press portion 74 a, theoperating lever 74 is rotated about the hinge shaft 75. As the operatinglever 74 is rotated, the stopper projection 76 is disengaged from thetooth 71, whereby the clamping band 70 is unlocked from the buckle 72and can be freely moved through the locking hole 72 a.

[0027] By the above-described structure of the clamper, if the clampingband 70 is inserted into the locking hole 72 a of the buckle 72 to clampthe front and rear boot parts 50 and 60 to each other, as the teeth 71of the clamping band 70 go over the stopper projection 76 of theoperating lever 74, the clamping band 70 can be inserted through thelocking hole 72 a. Thereafter, when adjustment of a spacing between thefront and rear boot parts 50 and 60 is completed, by taking off the handfrom the clamping band 70, one of the teeth 71 of the clamping band 70is engaged with the stopper projection 76, and thereby, the clampingband 70 is automatically locked in the buckle 72. Therefore, the frontand rear boot parts 50 and 60 are securely clamped to each other in astate wherein a spacing therebetween is adjusted. In the course ofclamping the front and rear boot parts 50 and 60 to each other, bypulling rearward a portion of the clamping band 70, which portionprojects rearward beyond a rear end of the buckle 72, the front and rearboot parts 50 and 60 can be tightly clamped to each other. As aconsequence, the front and rear boot parts 50 and 60 can be firmlysecured with respect to the foot accommodated therein.

[0028] When it is necessary to unclamp the front and rear boot parts 50and 60 from each other, by pressing the press portion 74 a of theoperating lever 74, the stopper projection 76 of the buckle 72 isdisengaged from the tooth 71 of the clamping band 70. In this state, theclamping band 70 can be removed out of the locking hole 72 a of thebuckle 72 in such a way as to free the front and rear boot parts 50 and60 from each other.

[0029] Due to the fact that, as shown in FIG. 3, the clamper comprisesthe pair of clamping bands 70 and the pair of buckles 72, which arearranged on both sides of the boot 40, the front and rear boot parts 50and 60 can be further securely clamped to each other.

[0030] Referring again to FIG. 1, according to the present invention, anilluminator is provided to the boot 40. The illuminator comprises atleast one battery 80 which is arranged in the sole 54 of the front bootpart 50, an on/off switch 82 which is positioned on a side of the sole54 to control power supply to the battery 80, and a bulb 84 whichirradiates light forward in response to power supply from the battery80. As shown in FIG. 4, in the sole 54 of the front boot part 50, thereare located a case 86 in which the battery 80 is received, and a cover88 which covers the case 86. Terminals 86 a are formed on both side endsof the case 86 to allow power supply therethrough. As shown in FIG. 1,the bulb 84 is located at a front end of the front boot part 50 and isprotected by a bulb case 84 a. The illuminator functions to irradiatelight forward upon enjoying skating in the nighttime.

[0031] Referring further again to FIG. 1, the skate according to thepresent invention has front and rear ground contactors 90 and 100 whichare detachably joined to the front and rear base parts 20 and 30,respectively. The front and rear ground contactors 90 and 100 comprisefront and rear frames 92 and 102 which are detachably joined to lowersurfaces of the front and rear base parts 20 and 30, respectively, in alengthwise direction of the skate to be aligned on a straight line, andtwo pairs of rollers 94 and 104, each pair of which are rotatablyarranged at left and right sides of each frame, respectively.

[0032] The front and rear frames 92 and 102 respectively have horizontalsupport rods 92 a and 102 a, and two pairs of coupling rods 92 b and 102b, each pair of which are integrally formed on an upper surface of eachof the horizontal support rods 92 a and 102 a to extend in a verticaldirection. As described above, the front and rear frames 92 and 102 arejoined to the lower surfaces of the front and rear base parts 20 and 30,respectively, in the lengthwise direction of the skate to be aligned ona straight line. To this end, two pairs of coupling holes 24 and 34 aredefined through the front and rear base parts 20 and 30 in a lengthwisedirection of the base 10 to be aligned on a straight line, in a mannersuch that the coupling rods 92 b and 102 b are inserted upward throughthe coupling holes 24 and 34, respectively. Also, two pairs of supportbrackets 25 and 35 are formed on upper surfaces of the front and rearbase parts 20 and 30, in a manner such that the coupling rods 92 b and102 b which project upward through the coupling holes 24 and 34 aresupported by the support brackets 25 and 35, respectively. As can bereadily seen from FIGS. 1 and 4, the support brackets 25 and 35 definesupport grooves 25 a and 35 a into which the coupling rods 92 b and 102b are respectively fitted. The support grooves 25 a and 35 a aregradually widened toward lower ends thereof in a manner such that thecoupling rods 92 b and 102 b can be easily fitted into the supportgrooves 25 a and 35 a, respectively (see FIG. 1). In this connection, itis to be readily understood that the coupling rods 92 b and 102 b of thefront and rear frames 92 and 102 are gradually widened toward upper endsthereof.

[0033] In the above-described structure of the front and rear frames 92and 102, due to the fact that the coupling rods 92 b and 102 b arerespectively inserted upward through the coupling holes 24 and 34, thefront and rear ground contactors 90 and 100 are detachably joined to thefront and rear base parts 20 and 30, respectively, in the lengthwisedirection of the skate to be aligned on a straight line. Two pairs ofsupport plates 26 and 36 are affixed to the lower surfaces of the frontand rear base parts 20 and 30, to prevent the front and rear frames 92and 102 from swaying leftward and rightward. As shown in FIG. 2, thesupport plates 26 and 36 extend in a lengthwise direction of the frontand rear base parts 20 and 30 in a manner such that they reinforce thehorizontal support rods 92 a and 102 a of the front and rear frames 92and 102 at both sides thereof.

[0034] The rollers 94 and 104 are adapted to roll in a state whereinthey are brought into contact with the ground. As described above, eachpair of rollers are rotatably arranged at left and right sides of eachframe, respectively. At this time, each pair of the rollers 94 and 104are rotatably mounted to left and right ends of each of support shafts94 a and 104 a which are fitted through the front and rear frames 92 and102 to extend in a widthwise direction of the skate. As a result, thetwo pairs of rollers 94 and 104 are arranged at left and right sides ofthe front and rear frames 92 and 102 of the front and rear groundcontactors 90 and 100, to be employed as a roller skate having fourrollers in total.

[0035] Referring to FIG. 5, there is illustrated a variation of thefront and rear ground contactors 90 and 100. The front and rear groundcontactors 90 and 100 according to this variation comprise front andrear frames 92 and 102 which are detachably joined to lower surfaces ofthe front and rear base parts 20 and 30, respectively, in a lengthwisedirection of the skate to be aligned on a straight line, and two pairsof rollers 94 and 104 which are rotatably mounted to the front and rearframes 92 and 102, respectively. That is to say, the front and rearground contactors 90 and 100 according to this variation have acharacteristic feature in that the two pairs of rollers 94 and 104define an in-line arrangement. Due to this fact, the skate according tothe present invention can be employed as an in-line skate in whichrollers are arranged in line with one another. As in the firstembodiment of the present invention, the front and rear frames 92 and102 of this variation have two pairs of coupling rods 92 b and 102 bwhich are configured in a manner such that they are respectivelyinserted upward through coupling holes 24 and 34 defined through thefront and rear base parts 20 and 30.

[0036] Referring to FIG. 6, there is illustrated another variation ofthe front and rear ground contactors 90 and 100. The front and rearground contactors 90 and 100 according to this variation comprise frontand rear frames 92 and 102 which are detachably joined to lower surfacesof the front and rear base parts 20 and 30, respectively, in alengthwise direction of the skate to be aligned on a straight line, anda pair of blades 96 and 106 which are integrally mounted to the frontand rear frames 92 and 102, respectively, to extend in a lengthwisedirection of the front and rear frames 92 and 102. The blades 96 and 106slide in a state wherein they are brought into contact with the ice.That is to say, due to the fact that the pair of blades 96 and 106 arealigned on a straight line, the skate according to the present inventioncan be employed as an ice skate. As in the first embodiment of thepresent invention, the front and rear frames 92 and 102 of thisvariation have two pairs of coupling rods 92 b and 102 b which areconfigured in a manner such that they are respectively inserted upwardthrough coupling holes 24 and 34 defined through the front and rear baseparts 20 and 30.

[0037] By joining and disjoining the front and rear ground contactors 90and 100 according to the first embodiment and the variations to and fromthe lower surfaces of the front and rear base parts 20 and 30,respectively, the skate of the present invention can be employed as anice skate, a roller skate or an in-line skate as desired.

[0038] Meanwhile, referring to FIGS. 2 and 4, the skate according to thepresent invention further has a pair of lockers 110 for locking thefront base part 20 and the front ground contactor 90 with each other andthe rear base part 30 and the rear ground contactor 100 with each other,respectively. As best shown in FIG. 4, the lockers 110 are installed ininstallation spaces 54 a and 64 a which are defined in the soles 54 and64 of the front and rear boot parts 50 and 60, respectively. Each locker110 comprises a pair of locking pins 112 which are located in theinstallation space in such a way as to be reciprocated between a lockingposition X and an unlocking position Z, a connecting rod 114 whichconnects the pair of locking pins 112 with each other, a spring 116which elastically biases the locking pins 112 toward the lockingposition X, and a push rod 118 which projects out of the boot 40 toallow the locking pins 112 to be moved from the locking position X tothe unlocking position Z when the push rod 118 is pressed.

[0039] A pair of guide brackets 112 a are formed on the upper surface ofeach of the front and rear base parts 20 and 30. The pair of lockingpins 112 are reciprocated along a straight path while being guided bythe pair of guide brackets 112 a. In the locking position X, eachlocking pin 112 is simultaneously fitted through each of the supportbrackets 25 and 35 and each of the coupling rods 92 b and 102 b of thefront and rear frames 92 and 102, so that the front base part 20 and thefront ground contactor 90 are locked with each other and the rear basepart 30 and the rear ground contactor 100 are locked with each other.Both ends of the spring 116 are respectively supported by the connectingrod 114 and the base 10. The spring 116 functions to bias the connectingrod 114 so as to cause the locking pins 112 to be held in the lockingposition X. The push rod 118 extends from one end of the connecting rod114 out of the boot 40. By pressing the push rod 118 against elasticforce of the spring 116, the wearer can move the locking pins 112 fromthe locking position X to the unlocking position Z, whereby the frontand rear ground contactors 90 and 100 which are respectively locked tothe front and rear base parts 20 and 30 can be freed therefrom.

[0040]FIG. 7 is a partially broken-away side view illustrating aconstruction of a skate in accordance with another embodiment of thepresent invention. In the skate according to this second embodiment ofthe present invention, differently from the first embodiment, a boot 210is not divided into a front boot part and a rear boot part, but isinstead made of a single piece; and only one ground contactor 230 isdetachably joined to the boot 210.

[0041] Concretely speaking, the skate according to this secondembodiment of the present invention has a base 200. The boot 210 isattached to the base 200. The boot 210 is composed of a shell 212 and asole 214. Securing bands 212 a for securing the boot 210 about the footand around the ankle of a wearer are attached to the shell 212.

[0042] As in the first embodiment, the skate according to this secondembodiment of the present invention has an illuminator. The illuminatorcomprises at least one battery 220 which is arranged in the sole 214 ofthe boot 210, an on/off switch 222 which is positioned on a side of thesole 214 to control power supply to the battery 220, and a bulb 224which irradiates light forward in response to power supply from thebattery 220. As for construction and operation of the illuminator, sincethey are the same as in the first embodiment, detailed explanationthereof shall be omitted.

[0043] The skate has the ground contactor 230 which is detachably joinedto the base 200. The ground contactor 230 comprises a frame 232, and aplurality of rollers 234 which are rotatably mounted to the frame 232.

[0044] The frame 232 has a horizontal support rod 232 a, and a pair ofcoupling rods 232 b which are integrally formed on an upper surface ofthe horizontal support rods 232 a to extend in a vertical direction. Theframe 232 is joined to a lower surface of the base 200. To this end, apair of coupling holes 201 are defined through the base 200 in alengthwise direction of the base 200, in a manner such that the couplingrods 232 b of the frame 232 are inserted upward through the couplingholes 201, respectively. Also, a pair of support brackets 203 are formedon an upper surface of the base 200, in a manner such that the couplingrods 232 b which project upward through the coupling holes 201 aresupported by the support brackets 203, respectively. The supportbrackets 203 define support grooves 203 a into which the coupling rods232 b are respectively fitted. As can be readily seen from FIG. 7, thesupport grooves 203 a are gradually widened toward lower ends thereof ina manner such that the coupling rods 232 b can be easily fitted into thesupport grooves 203 a, respectively. In this connection, it is to bereadily understood that the coupling rods 232 b of the frame 232 aregradually widened toward upper ends thereof.

[0045] In the above-described structure of the frame 232, due to thefact that the coupling rods 232 b are respectively inserted upwardthrough the coupling holes 201, the ground contactor 230 is detachablyjoined to the base 200. A pair of support plates 205 are affixed to thelower surface of the base 200, to prevent the frame 232 from swayingleftward and rightward. The support plates 205 are configured in amanner such that they reinforce the horizontal support rods 232 a of theframe 232 at both sides thereof.

[0046] The rollers 234 roll in a state wherein they are brought intocontact with the ground. As described above, the rollers 234 arerotatably mounted to the frame 232. While it is illustrated in FIG. 7that the rollers 234 are arranged in line one with another along alengthwise direction of the skate in such a way as to define an in-linearrangement and thereby allow the skate to be employed as an in-lineskate, two pairs of rollers may be arranged at left and right sides ofthe frame 232 in such a way as to allow the skate to be employed as aroller skate, or a blade may be integrally mounted to the frame 232 toallow the skate to be employed as an ice skate.

[0047] Meanwhile, the skate according to this second embodiment of thepresent invention further has a locker 240 for locking the base 200 andthe ground contactor 230 with each other. As best shown in FIG. 7, thelocker 240 is installed in an installation space which is defined in thesole 214 of the boot 210. The locker 240 comprises a pair of lockingpins 242 which are reciprocatingly located to selectively lock thecoupling rods 232 b of the frame 232 with respect to the supportbrackets 203 of the base 200, respectively, a connecting rod (not shown)which connects the pair of locking pins 242 with each other, a spring(not shown) which elastically biases the locking pins 242 toward alocking position, and a push rod 244 which projects out of the boot 210to allow the locking pins 242 to be moved from the locking position toan unlocking position when the push rod 244 is pressed. As forconstruction and operation of the locker 240, since they are the same asin the first embodiment, detailed explanation thereof shall be omitted.

[0048] In the skate according to this second embodiment of the presentinvention, constructed as mentioned above, the ground contactor 230,which is to be brought into contact with the ground or the ice, isdetachably joined to the boot 210. In this regard, due to the fact thatthe ground contactor 230 may comprise a blade integrally mounted to theframe 232, two pairs of rollers arranged at left and right sides of theframe 232, or a plurality of rollers arranged in line one with another,the skate can be effectively employed as an ice skate, a roller skate oran in-line skate as desired.

[0049] As apparent from the above description, the skate according tothe present invention, constructed as mentioned above, providesadvantages in that, since a boot is divided into a front boot part and arear boot part and a spacing between the front and rear boot parts canbe changed, a size of the boot can be adjusted in conformity with a sizeof a foot. Also, due to the fact that a ground contactor to be engagedwith the ice or the ground is detachably joined to a base and comprisesa blade, a roller assembly or an in-line roller arrangement, the skateaccording to the present invention can be employed as an ice skate, aroller skate or an in-line skate as desired.

[0050] In the drawings and specification, there have been disclosedtypical preferred embodiments of the invention and, although specificterms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive senseonly and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the inventionbeing set forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A skate comprising: a base having front and rear base parts which are separated from each other; a boot having front and rear boot parts which are attached to upper surfaces of the front and rear base parts, respectively; base connection means for connecting the front and rear base parts with each other in a manner such that the spacing between the base parts can be adjusted, and for guiding movement of the rear base part with respect to the front base part; clamping means for releasably clamping the front and rear boot parts to each other so that relative movement therebetween is prevented; and front and rear ground contacting means detachably joined to lower surfaces of the front and rear base parts, respectively.
 2. The skate as set forth in claim 1, wherein the base connection means comprises a pair of guide shafts which extend rearward from the front base part, and a pair of guide holes which are defined in the rear base part in a manner such that the guide shafts are reciprocatingly fitted into the guide holes, respectively.
 3. The skate as set forth in claim 1, wherein the clamping means comprises a pair of clamping bands which are fastened to the front boot part, and a pair of buckles which are fastened to the rear boot part in a manner such that the clamping bands can be locked in the buckles, respectively.
 4. The skate as set forth in claim 1, wherein the front and rear ground contacting means comprise front and rear frames which are detachably joined to the front and rear base parts, respectively, and two pairs of rollers, each pair of which are rotatably arranged at left and right sides of each frame, respectively.
 5. The skate as set forth in claim 1, wherein the front and rear ground contacting means comprise front and rear frames which are detachably joined to the front and rear base parts, respectively, and a plurality of rollers which are rotatably mounted to the front and rear frames in such a way as to define an in-line arrangement.
 6. The skate as set forth in claim 1, wherein the front and rear ground contacting means comprise front and rear frames which are detachably joined to the front and rear base parts, respectively, and a pair of blades which are integrally mounted to the front and rear frames, respectively.
 7. The skate as set forth in any one of the claims 4 to 6, further comprising: a pair of lockers installed in the front and rear base parts for locking the front base part and the front ground contacting means with each other and the rear base part and the rear ground contacting means with each other, respectively, each locker comprising a pair of locking pins which are moved between a locking position and an unlocking position, a spring which elastically biases the locking pins toward the locking position, and a push rod which is connected to the locking pins to allow the locking pins to be moved to the unlocking position when the push rod is pressed.
 8. The skate as set forth in claim 1, further comprising: illuminating means for irradiating light, the illuminating means comprising at least one battery which is replaceably arranged in the boot, a switch which controls power supply to the battery, and a bulb which is located at a front end of the boot to irradiate light forward.
 9. A skate comprising: a base; a boot attached to an upper surface of the base; and ground contacting means detachably joined to a lower surface of the base.
 10. The skate as set forth in claim 9, wherein the ground contacting means comprises a frame which is detachably joined to the base, and a plurality of rollers which are rotatably mounted to the frame in such a way as to define an in-line arrangement.
 11. The skate as set forth in claim 9, wherein the ground contacting means comprises a frame which is detachably joined to the base, and a blade which is integrally mounted to the frame. 